NRL 2022: Cameron Munster avoids charge for elbow to Sam Walker’s face
The NRL does not approve of Cameron Munster elbowing an opponent in the face, but somehow the Storm star was not charged for the grubby act.
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Clean up your act or you’ll be out of the finals.
That’s the warning from the NRL to Melbourne Storm star Cameron Munster, who has narrowly avoided suspension for elbowing Roosters halfback Sam Walker in the face (see the video above) as he lay on the ground.
The Friday night incident was just one of many controversial moments that has had major ramifications on both the Storm and Roosters‘ charge towards the finals.
Aside from the NRL preparing to issue Munster a “concerning act” letter for his elbow on Walker, The Sunday Telegraph can also reveal:
* Roosters prop Lindsay Collins may not play again until the grand final after being charged with a dangerous hip drop tackle on Storm forward Tom Eisenhuth.
* Eisenhuth‘s season is likely over with Storm medical staff awaiting results of scans to confirm a four to six week syndesmosis injury.
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* Storm firebrand Nelson Asofa-Solomona will be asked by coaching staff to temper his aggression after also narrowly escaping suspension.
* Roosters gun Victor Radley may be “rested” from the club‘s Allianz Stadium-opener against South Sydney on Friday night following a heavy concussion.
* NSW Origin winger Daniel Tupou is also in danger of missing the Rabbitohs clash, as well as week one of the finals, due to a groin injury.
Munster may have escaped formal punishment for jamming his elbow into Walker, but the NRL aren’t happy about it.
One of the game’s most lethal players, Munster had been tackled by Walker in the second-half of Friday night’s thriller when he reacted in the process of playing the ball by delivering a shoving elbow into the half-back’s face.
@nrl@TripleM_NRL@NRLonNine@FOXNRL@telegraph_sport@BulldogRitchie 2 Storm tackles back to back that look like hip drops to me, but due to no injury no charge.
— Elliott (@RoosterXIII) August 27, 2022
THIS GAME IS REALLY BECOMING A JOKE.
You cannot suspend Collins and let these ride. pic.twitter.com/ptQHLGEAFg
Munster was fortunate to escape without a dangerous contact charge by the NRL match review committee.
The Roosters have issues of their own with the health of Radley to be closely monitored and Collins facing four to five weeks on the sideline after being hit with a grade three dangerous contact charge.
Radley was left convulsing on the ground after suffering the head knock, leading to the game being halted as he was taken from the field on a medi-cab.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson said Radley had recovered with positive signs post-match.
“He’s back in there and he remembers the whole game except for the tackle, but it also didn’t look good on the field, either,” Robinson said.
As for Collins’ tackle, Robinson was loath to elaborate on the incident.
“I can’t really say much about that can I?” Robinson said.
“It is not for me to sort of go into.”
The third-man into the tackle, Collins attacked the legs of Eisenhuth, while two Roosters teammates tackled the Storm forward around his waist and chest.
The weight of Collins on Eisenhuth‘s ankle has resulted in a syndesmosis injury that may end his season.
Tepai Moeroa, Chris Lewis and Alex MacDonald are Melbourne’s forward replacement options for their huge clash with Parramatta on Thursday night.
The Roosters will consider contesting the grading over the next 24-hours, knowing that the omission of Collins from their finals campaign is a crushing blow.
Surprisingly, the Roosters received an ally in Storm forward Brandon Smith.
Smith told Triple M that hip drop tackles occur frequently in matches and that the severity of the injury impacts how long a player gets suspended.
Smith himself was penalised for a hip drop tackle three weeks ago on Tino Fa’asuamaleaui but wasn’t suspended. “I reckon you’d see one hip drop tackle every two sets, they happen all the time,” Smith said. “I was fortunate that the guy I hip-dropped was one of my best mates. He had a sore leg, but he got up and played the ball because he realised that he didn’t want to get me in trouble. “Hopefully Tommy is alright, but it didn’t look too bad and there wasn’t too much force dropped down on him. “I think the outcome dictates how bad the punishment is.”
In a physical and firey clash that has set the scene for a bitter finals series, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was also charged for his facial on Storm opposite Asofa-Solomona, however, he will escape with a $3,000 fine for the contrary conduct charge.
Asofa-Solomona also avoided a match suspension with a $3,000 fine only for a grade one dangerous contact charge on Roosters rookie Joseph Suaalii.
Robinson conceded Tupou‘s groin injury was an issue after the veteran winger was forced from the field on Friday night.
Paul Momirovski and Oliver Gildart are options to replace Tupou.
“It’s definitely a concern,’’ Robinson said of Tupou’s injury.
ROBINSON WEIGHS IN ON JWH SIN-BIN
By Lance Jenkinson
Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has questioned the sin-binning of prop forward Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who “got down and dirty” to play a vital role as the intimidator in his side’s finals-clinching 18-14 win over Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Friday night.
Waerea-Hargreaves felt the ire of referee Adam Gee either side of half-time and had his first half interrupted by a stint in the sin bin.
Waerea-Hargreaves is always one who pushes the boundaries, but looking at the sin-binning incident in isolation, Robinson asked whether he actually overstepped the mark in a fierce tackle on Storm big man Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
Robinson was left puzzled.
“I didn’t know what he got sent for,” he said.
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“I think it was physical and I remember him [Gee] saying if the next one that comes in third man that creates that was going to go to the bin.
“That [act] was different to that, I thought.”
Robinson praised Waerea-Hargreaves for executing his role in the win, despite his constant interactions with Gee, which saw him reported twice and sin-binned.
“The man is physical and that’s what we love about our game is guys being physical,” Robinson said.
“He got down and dirty and it cost him 10, but he also set the tone, that’s what your lead prop does, he sets the tone for a game. Credit to him.”
There are concerns for the Roosters over the availability of lock forward Victor Radley and winger Daniel Tupou for their historic game against South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday night at the newly redeveloped Allianz Stadium.
Radley had to be taken off the field on a medicab after a sickening tackle on Jesse Bromwich left him concussed and convulsing on the ground.
Robinson revealed that he was able to talk to Radley after the game.
“He’s back in there and remembers the whole game, except for the tackle,” Robinson said.
“It also didn’t look good on the field.”
Tupou took no further part in the game after injuring his groin in the first half and will likely spend time on the sidelines.
“It’s definitely a concern,” Robinson said.
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